Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Distinctive and Beautiful: Jon Vickers

Besides Kathleen Ferrier, who were the other five voices that were distinct and beautiful in the 20th Century? For the record, there probably more than five.

The hinge is beautiful. For instance, Callas had a voice that no one ever forgot but half the people who heard her thought the voice was grating and unpleasant.

I’ll take a shot at compiling a list of five beautiful and distinct voices. I’m limiting the list to singers who are no longer singing—I don’t know why.

Canadian heldentenor, Jon Vickers, had a massive voice and a distinct tone. His voice was never confused with the Italian superstars of his generation such as Corelli or Bergonzi.

Vickers did sing a significant amount of Italian repertoire in the dramatic category. His Otello and Canio were the stuff of legend because he acted them as well as he sang them.

Vickers excelled almost all others in the big Wagnerian roles that he sang even though he didn’t really sing that much Wagner. He sang four roles in all; Erik in Dutchman, Siegmund in Valkyrie, Tristan in Tristan, and Parsifal.

Siegmund and Tristan were his signature roles in Wagner but his 1964 Bayreuth performance of Parsifal is considered to be some of the most dramatically effective singing of all time.

In spite of his monumental Wagner and psychotic verismo roles, it was as an addled English fisherman that Vickers was best known and loved. The role of Peter Grimes was written by Benjamin Britten for the English tenor Peter Pears.

Pears was a lyric English tenor for whom Britten wrote several pieces. If Peter Pears is an English meadow then Vickers is the Canadian Rockies.

English meadows and granite mountain peaks both have their appeal but no one gets them confused. Pears sang roles Vickers would never dream of and vice versa. Both singers sang Grimes with great success but ask any opera fan who is the greatest Grimes and they will say Vickers.

Vickers in Parsifal Finale http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji3UgVHkGXk

Vickers as Grimes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg3UCgMLXhE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-juIqZGKdZA

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Live Five: Greyboy Allstars, Acoustic Revolt, Scary Pierre, Thee Sacred Souls, Glass Spells

Anniversaries, record releases, and fundraisers in Solana Beach, Ocean Beach, Little Italy, and Midway District

Besides Kathleen Ferrier, who were the other five voices that were distinct and beautiful in the 20th Century? For the record, there probably more than five.

The hinge is beautiful. For instance, Callas had a voice that no one ever forgot but half the people who heard her thought the voice was grating and unpleasant.

I’ll take a shot at compiling a list of five beautiful and distinct voices. I’m limiting the list to singers who are no longer singing—I don’t know why.

Canadian heldentenor, Jon Vickers, had a massive voice and a distinct tone. His voice was never confused with the Italian superstars of his generation such as Corelli or Bergonzi.

Vickers did sing a significant amount of Italian repertoire in the dramatic category. His Otello and Canio were the stuff of legend because he acted them as well as he sang them.

Vickers excelled almost all others in the big Wagnerian roles that he sang even though he didn’t really sing that much Wagner. He sang four roles in all; Erik in Dutchman, Siegmund in Valkyrie, Tristan in Tristan, and Parsifal.

Siegmund and Tristan were his signature roles in Wagner but his 1964 Bayreuth performance of Parsifal is considered to be some of the most dramatically effective singing of all time.

In spite of his monumental Wagner and psychotic verismo roles, it was as an addled English fisherman that Vickers was best known and loved. The role of Peter Grimes was written by Benjamin Britten for the English tenor Peter Pears.

Pears was a lyric English tenor for whom Britten wrote several pieces. If Peter Pears is an English meadow then Vickers is the Canadian Rockies.

English meadows and granite mountain peaks both have their appeal but no one gets them confused. Pears sang roles Vickers would never dream of and vice versa. Both singers sang Grimes with great success but ask any opera fan who is the greatest Grimes and they will say Vickers.

Vickers in Parsifal Finale http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji3UgVHkGXk

Vickers as Grimes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pg3UCgMLXhE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-juIqZGKdZA

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tenors into Stool

Next Article

Forbidden Love Sucks

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader